None of the MPs in our group described their jobs in terms consonant with the traditional Westminster definition, and only a few were even close. One MP was even brave enough to acknowledge that he wasn’t entirely sure what the job entailed. “[I thought one] should have a clear understanding of what an MP does. But even when I explained it to people, I didn’t [entirely] know…and [when I asked others], I didn’t get a clear answer,” the MP said.
When we asked MPs to describe how they conceived of their role, at least five general categories emerged, and each included substantial degrees of difference within it.
These categories are summarized here and described in greater detail in the next sections.
The wide disparity in the way MPs described their own jobs is echoed by Professor Suzanne Dovi, “The concept of political representation is misleadingly simple: everyone seems to know what it is, yet few can agree on any particular definition.”